Information processing apparatus, image formation apparatus, and control methods of information processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A default image formation apparatus is desired to be easily set. An information processing apparatus includes a controller including a processor and a memory, the controller configured to acquire identification information that identifies an image formation apparatus, and transmit the identification information to a server system in which the identification information about the image formation apparatus is previously registered so as to set the image formation apparatus as a default image formation apparatus in the server system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/156,390, filed Jan. 22, 2021, which claims the benefit of JapanesePatent Application No. 2020-014209, filed Jan. 30, 2020, both of whichare hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a default setting of an imageformation apparatus registered in a server system.

Description of the Related Art

With the widespread use of cloud services, more printing apparatuseshave been equipped with network communication functions. In addition,there have been provided cloud print services in which users give printinstructions from their terminals through the Internet. A user can login to a cloud print service on the Internet from a terminal and printwith a printer registered in the cloud print service. However, printersregistered in such a cloud print service are located in various places.If many printers are registered in the cloud print service, the userneeds to select a desired printer from these printers. Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 2015-108950 discusses a method in which aterminal of a user reads an image code of a printer that the user wishesto use. By reading this image code, the user terminal is notified of aphysical printer identification (ID) given to the printer by a cloudprint server. Next, to use this printer, the user sends a settingrequest including the physical printer ID and his/her user ID to thecloud print service.

SUMMARY

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, an informationprocessing apparatus includes a controller including a processor and amemory, the controller configured to acquire identification informationthat identifies an image formation apparatus, and transmit theidentification information to a server system in which theidentification information about the image formation apparatus ispreviously registered so as to set the image formation apparatus as adefault image formation apparatus in the server system.

Thus, for example, a printer that a user usually uses, namely, “adefault printer”, can be set. This eliminates the need for an individualuser who always uses the same printer to select the printer to use fromthe printers registered in the cloud print service every time.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system configuration.

FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate hardware configurations of a print server, aclient terminal, and a printer.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate software configurations of the print serverand the client terminal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed bya default printer setting application according to a first exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed bya print service according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts illustrating examples of processingperformed by a print service according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 7A to 7E illustrate examples of a user interface (UI) of thedefault printer setting application according to the first exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate examples of a shared device list andindividual device lists according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate software configurations of a print server anda printer according to a third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performedby a default printer setting application according to the thirdexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performedby a default printer setting application according to a fourth exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performedby a printer service according to the fourth exemplary embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a bot system for printingaccording to a first exemplary embodiment.

A print server 101, a client terminal 102, and a printer 103 areconnected to each other via a network 104. While FIG. 1 illustrates oneclient terminal 102 and one printer 103, in reality these elements areusually provided in plural. The server 101 may also be configured with aplurality of servers for load sharing. Alternatively, the roles of theindividual servers may be virtually performed inside a physically singleserver. In addition, the individual server may be a cloud server on acloud. The present exemplary embodiment assumes that the network 104 isa wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. However, the network 104may be a closed environment such as a corporate local area network(LAN). The client terminal 102 is a terminal directly operated by theuser, such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet terminal, or asmartphone. Arbitrary application software is executable on the clientterminal 102. The printer 103 is a device that actually performsprinting on physical paper by converting print data received via thenetwork 104 into image data. The print server 101 receives a printinstruction and document data from the outside, converts the documentdata into print data, transmits the print data to the predeterminedprinter 103, and gives the print instruction to the printer 103. Whendeployed in a cloud environment, the print server 101 may be called acloud print server. Either a push-type method or a pull-type method maybe used. In the former method, the user does not need to perform anyoperation on the printer 103 to cause the printer 103 to performprinting. In the latter method, printing is not started unless the userperforms a print start operation on the printer 103. The cloud serverand the cloud print server are a server system that is constituted by atleast one server. The printer is an image formation apparatus that formsimages on sheets.

Next, hardware configurations of the above devices included in thesystem according to the present exemplary embodiment will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theprint server 101. The print server 101 includes a storage unit 204, acontrol unit 201, and a network communication unit 205. The storage unit204 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk or asolid-state drive (SSD) and is capable of holding and rewriting digitaldata.

The control unit 201 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and amemory 203 and controls an overall operation of the print server 101.The CPU 202 loads a program stored in the storage unit 204 to the memory203 and executes the program. The memory 203 is a main memory of the CPU202 and is used as a work area and a temporary storage area for loadingvarious programs.

The network communication unit 205 communicates with the externalnetwork 104 and exchanges digital data with an external server, a clientterminal, etc. via the network 104.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theclient terminal 102. The client terminal 102 includes a display unit216, an operation unit 217, a storage unit 214, a control unit 211, anetwork communication unit 215, and an image reading unit 218. Thedisplay unit 216 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) anddisplays visual information to the user in real time. The operation unit217 receives input information from the user via a keyboard, a mouse, orthe like. A device, such as a touch panel that functions as both thedisplay unit 216 and the operation unit 217, may be used as theoperation unit 217.

The image reading unit 218 reads a two-dimensional code that isdisplayed on a panel of a device or that is attached to the housing of adevice.

Since the storage unit 214, the control unit 211, and the networkcommunication unit 215 are equivalent to those in the print server 101,redundant descriptions thereof will be avoided.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theprinter 103. The printer 103 includes a display unit 226, an operationunit 227, a storage unit 224, a control unit 221, a networkcommunication unit 225, and a print unit 228. The display unit 226 is,for example, a touch panel or a light-emitting diode (LED) mounted onthe printer 103 and displays information to the user in real time. Theoperation unit 227 receives input information from the user. In additionto the touch panel, the operation unit 227 may include hardware keyssuch as a numeric keypad. Since the storage unit 224 and the controlunit 221 are equivalent to those in the print server 101, redundantdescriptions thereof will be avoided. The network communication unit 225communicates with the external network 104. The main role of the networkcommunication unit 225 is receiving print data and transmitting, forexample, the error status of the printer 103 to the external server,etc. The print unit 228 performs print processing by performing a seriesof operations on paper that has been set in a cassette or a tray.Examples of the print processing include paper feeding, printing, andpaper discharging. Any printing method, for example, anelectrophotographic method or an ink jet method, may be used. Adouble-sided unit used when the paper discharging is performed andfinishing devices for stapling and punching are also included in theprint unit 228. In the present exemplary embodiment, the single functionprinter that has only a print function has been described as the exampleof the printer 103. However, a multi-function printer (a multi-functionperipheral) that has also a scanner function and a facsimile functionmay alternatively be used.

Next, software configurations of the above devices in the systemaccording to the present exemplary embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIG. 3A illustrates a software configuration of the print server 101. Aprint service 301 transmits print data received from the outside to aregistered printer (for example, the printer 103) via the network 104and causes the printer to execute the print data. A file storage 302 isan area allocated in the storage unit 204 of the print server 101. Thefile storage 302 holds user information registered in the print service301, information about the printers held by users, user-specific defaultprint settings, a list of print settings, etc. These items ofinformation are used by the print service 301. In addition, the printservice 301 manages the devices that can be used therewith. Among theprinters registered in the print service 301, the print service 301manages a list of printers that can be used by all users as a shareddevice list, as illustrated in FIG. 8A. In addition, among the printersincluded in the shared device list, the print service 301 manages a listof printers that an individual user has selected to use, as anindividual device list, as illustrated in FIG. 8B. The shared devicelist and the individual device lists are stored in the file storage 302.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of theclient terminal 102. A default printer setting application 311 is asoftware application that serves as an interface for the user, to send adefault printer setting request to the print service. Specifically, thedefault printer setting application 311 displays a user interface (UI)(a login screen) for logging in to the print service 301 and a UI forreading a two-dimensional code on the display 216. The default printersetting application 311 also extracts a device unique identification(ID) (which is ID information for identifying a device) from thetwo-dimensional code read by the image reading unit 218 and transmitsthe default printer setting request together with the extracted deviceunique ID to the print server 101.

A file storage 312 is an area allocated in the storage unit 214 of theclient terminal 102 for storing user files. The user can store imagedata read by the image reading unit 218 and the extracted device uniqueID in the file storage 312. The default printer setting application 311has the authority to access the file storage 312. In the presentexemplary embodiment and the other exemplary embodiments, it ispreferable that the print server be realized by a print server systemconstituted by at least one server.

Next, processing performed by the application 311 and the service 301according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 7A to 7E.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of default printer setting processingperformed by the client terminal 102 (the information processingapparatus).

The CPU 212 performs the processing illustrated in FIG. 4 by loading aprogram of the default printer setting application 311 to the memory213. This program is stored in the storage unit 214 of the clientterminal 102.

First, in step S401, the default printer setting application 311 causesthe image reading unit 218 to scan a two-dimensional code that isdisplayed on a panel of a printer or that is attached to the housing ofa printer, as illustrated in FIG. 7A. Next, in step S402, the defaultprinter setting application 311 analyzes the image of the readtwo-dimensional code and extracts a device unique ID. Next, in stepS403, the default printer setting application 311 displays a UI to login to the print service 301 and requests the user to enter userinformation and a password, as illustrated in FIG. 7B. If the correctpassword corresponding to the user information is entered, the printservice 301 determines that the user has successfully logged in. In stepS404, the default printer setting application 311 determines whether theuser has successfully logged in to the print service 301.

If the user has successfully logged in the print service 301 (YES instep S404), the processing proceeds to step S405. In step S405, thedefault printer setting application 311 receives credential informationfrom the print service 301. As the credential information, signed datathat includes an attribute, such as an identity (ID) token, of theauthenticated user may be used. In addition, in step S405, the defaultprinter setting application 311 transmits a default printer settingrequest together with the device unique ID and the credentialinformation to the print server 101. In step S406, based on the responsefrom the print server 101, the default printer setting application 311determines whether the default printer setting has been successful. Ifthe default printer setting has been successful (YES in step S406), theprocessing proceeds to step S407. In step S407, the default printersetting application 311 displays a printer list screen on the displayunit 216, as illustrated in FIG. 7C. A list of the printers registeredin an updated individual device list (701) and the default printersetting (702) are displayed on the printer list screen. In contrast, ifthe default printer setting has failed (NO in step S406), the processingproceeds to step S409. In step S409, the default printer settingapplication 311 displays error information on the display unit 216, asillustrated in FIG. 7D.

In addition, if the user has failed to log in to the print service 301(NO in step S404), the processing proceeds to step S408. In step S408,the default printer setting application 311 displays error informationon the display unit 216, as illustrated in FIG. 7E.

The default printer is a pre-selected printer. Unless the printer to beused is manually selected, the default printer is used for printing.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of default printer setting processingperformed by the print server 101.

The CPU 202 performs the processing illustrated in FIG. 5 by loading aprogram of the print service 301 to the memory 203. This program isstored in the storage unit 204 of the print server 101.

The print service 301 performs step S501 in FIG. 5 upon receiving adefault printer setting request.

First, in step S501, the print service 301 receives a default printersetting request. Next, in step S502, the print service 301 determineswhether the credential information attached to the received defaultprinter setting request matches the user information about the user whohas logged in to the print service 301. If the credential informationmatches the user information (YES in step S502), the processing proceedsto step S503. In step S503, the print service 301 determines whether thedevice unique ID attached to the received default printer settingrequest matches an individual device list. If the credential informationdoes not match the user information (NO in step S502), the processingproceeds to step S507. In step S507, the print service 301 outputs errorinformation to the client terminal 102. If the device unique ID matchesany one of the device unique IDs registered in the individual devicelist (YES in step S503), the processing proceeds to step S506. In stepS506, the print service 301 sets the printer having this matching deviceunique ID as a default printer.

In contrast, if none of the printers included in the individual devicelist have the device unique ID (NO in step S503), the processingproceeds to step S504. In step S504, the print service 301 determineswhether the device unique ID matches the shared device list. If aprinter matching the device unique ID is included in the shared devicelist (YES in step S504), the processing proceeds to step S505. In stepS505, the print service 301 records the device unique ID in theindividual device list for the user. In this way, a printer isregistered as a device to be used per user. In step S506, the printservice 301 further sets the printer having the device unique ID as adefault printer. In contrast, if none of the printers in the shareddevice list match the device unique ID (NO in step S504), the processingproceeds to step S508. In step S508, the print service 301 outputs errorinformation to the client terminal 102, as illustrated in FIG. 7D.

As described above, the default print application 311 of the clientterminal 102 and the print service 301 of the print server 101 performprocessing in cooperation with each other. As a result, based on adevice unique ID of a printer, a default printer can be set per user. Inaddition, since the user performs the operation in front of the printer,the user does not need to memorize the name, the Internet protocol (IP)address, etc. of the target printer. This improves the convenience.Furthermore, the user does not need to reselect the target printer fromthe list of shared printers every time. This reduces the burden of theuser operation.

As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, anindividual user does not need to manually and explicitly select adefault printer after logging-in. By simply capturing an image of atwo-dimensional code displayed on a display unit of a printer, the usercan set the printer as a default printer.

The first exemplary embodiment has been described based on an example inwhich the user sets a default printer by causing the default printersetting application 311 of the client terminal 102 to read atwo-dimensional code. A second exemplary embodiment describes a methodin which an administrator easily registers a printer in a shared devicelist.

Specific processing according to the present exemplary embodiment willbe described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. In the present exemplaryembodiment, only the difference between the first and second exemplaryembodiments will be described. Since the system configuration, thehardware/software configuration, and the processing of the secondexemplary embodiment are basically the same as those of the firstexemplary embodiment, redundant descriptions thereof will be avoided.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate examples of processing for registration inthe shared device list and default printer setting processing performedby a print server 101 according to a second exemplary embodiment.

A CPU 202 performs the processing illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B byloading a program of a print service 301 to a memory 203. This programis stored in a storage unit 204 of the print server 101.

The print service 301 performs step S601 in FIG. 6A upon receiving adefault printer setting request.

Since steps S601 to S607 are the same as steps S501 to S507 in FIG. 5,redundant descriptions thereof will be avoided. If none of the printersin the shared device list matches the device unique ID (NO in stepS604), the processing proceeds to step S608. In step S608, the printservice 301 performs shared device registration processing.

FIG. 6B illustrates a specific example of the shared device registrationprocessing.

In step S611, the print server 101 refers to the user information storedin a file storage 302 and determines whether the user has a shareddevice registration authority.

If the user has the shared device registration authority (YES in stepS611), the processing proceeds to step S612. In step S612, the printserver 101 registers the printer as a shared device by recording thedevice unique ID of the printer in the shared device list. Next, in stepS613, the print server 101 registers the printer as a user-specificutilization device by further recording its device unique ID in theindividual device list for the user. Next, in step S614, the printservice 301 further sets the printer having the device unique ID as adefault printer. If the user does not have the shared deviceregistration authority (NO in step S611), the processing proceeds tostep S615. In step S615, the print service 301 outputs error informationto the client terminal 102.

As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, theprint service 301 registers the printer in the shared device list andperforms the setting of the default printer.

Since the user performs the operation in front of the printer, the userdoes not need to memorize the name, the IP address, etc. of the targetprinter. This improves the convenience.

In addition, the administrator of the printer can easily register a newprinter in the shared device list. Thus, the burden of the printermanagement operation can be reduced.

The first exemplary embodiment has been described based on an example inwhich the user sets a default printer by causing the default printersetting application 311 of the client terminal 102 to read atwo-dimensional code.

The default printer setting application may be provided in the printer103. Namely, as will be described in a third exemplary embodiment as anexample, a default printer may be set by activating a default printersetting application in a printer 103 according to the third exemplaryembodiment.

Specific processing according to the present exemplary embodiment willbe described with reference to FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 10. In the presentexemplary embodiment, only the difference between the first and thirdexemplary embodiments will be described. Since the system configuration,the hardware/software configuration, and the processing are basicallythe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment, redundantdescriptions thereof will be avoided.

FIG. 9A is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of aprint server 101. Since this software configuration is the same as thatof the print server 101 illustrated in FIG. 3A, redundant descriptionthereof will be avoided.

FIG. 9B is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of aprinter 103. A default printer setting application 901 is the same asthe default printer setting application 311 of the client terminal 102.

A file storage 902 is an area allocated in a storage unit 224 of theprinter 103 for storing user files. The user can store an acquireddevice unique ID in the file storage 902. The default printer settingapplication 901 has the authority to access the file storage 902.

Next, application processing according to the present exemplaryembodiment will be described.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of default printer processing in a casewhere the printer executes the default printer setting application.

A CPU 222 performs the processing illustrated in FIG. 10 by loading aprogram of the default printer setting application 901 to a memory 223.This program is stored in the storage unit 224 of the printer 103.

The default printer setting application 901 performs step S1001 in FIG.10 upon being activated by the user via a UI on a panel of a printer.

In step S1001, when activated via the UI on the panel of the printer,the default printer setting application 901 acquires the device uniqueID directly from the printer.

Since steps S1002 to S1008 are the same as steps S403 to S409 in FIG. 4,redundant descriptions thereof will be avoided.

As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, thedefault printer setting application 901 of the printer 103 acquires adevice unique ID of a printer, and based on the acquired device uniqueID of the printer, a default printer can be set per user.

In addition, the user can easily set a default printer without anyclient terminal.

The first exemplary embodiment has been described based on an example inwhich the user sets a default printer promptly by causing the defaultprinter setting application of the client terminal 102 to read thetwo-dimensional code.

A fourth exemplary embodiment describes a method in which the user isasked about “whether to set the printer as a default printer”. In thismethod, the setting is performed based on the confirmation result.

Specific processing according to the present exemplary embodiment willbe described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In the present exemplaryembodiment, only the difference between the first and fourth exemplaryembodiments will be described. Since the system configuration, thehardware/software configuration, and the processing are basically thesame as those of the first exemplary embodiment, redundant descriptionsthereof will be avoided.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of default printer setting processingperformed by a client terminal 102.

A CPU 212 performs the processing illustrated in FIG. 11 by loading aprogram of a default printer setting application 311 to a memory 213.This program is stored in a storage unit 214 of the client terminal 102.

First, in step S1101, the default printer setting application 311requests the user to enter a user instruction indicating a scan UI or amanual input UI. If the user selects the scan UI (NO in step S1101), theprocessing proceeds to step S1102. Since steps S1102, S1103, S1105, andS1106 are the same as steps S401 to S404, redundant descriptions thereofwill be avoided. In contrast, if the user selects the manual input UI(YES in step S1101), the processing proceeds to step S1104. In stepS1101, the default printer setting application 311 receives a deviceunique ID entered by the user. Also in this case, since steps S1105 andS1106 are the same as steps S403 and S404, redundant descriptionsthereof will be avoided. If the user successfully logs in to a printservice 301 (YES in step S1106), the default printer setting application311 receives credential information from the print service 301. Next, instep S1107, the default printer setting application 311 adds the userinstruction information indicating either scan input or manual input tothe default printer setting request information, which includes thedevice unique ID and the credential information. Next, in step S1108,the default printer setting application 311 transmits a default printersetting request to a print server 101. Since steps S1109 to 1012 are thesame as steps S406 to S409 in FIG. 4, redundant descriptions thereofwill be avoided.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of default printer setting processingperformed by the print server 101.

A CPU 202 performs the processing illustrated in FIG. 12 by loading aprogram of the print service 301 to a memory 203. This program is storedin a storage unit 204 of the print server 101.

The print service 301 performs step S1201 in FIG. 12 upon receiving adefault printer setting request.

First, in step S1201, the print service 301 receives a default printersetting request.

In step S1202, the print service 301 determines whether the credentialinformation attached to the received default printer setting requestmatches the user information about the user who has logged in to theprint service 301. If the credential information matches the userinformation (YES in step S1202), the processing proceeds to step S1203.In step S1203, the print service 301 determines whether the deviceunique ID attached to the received default printer setting requestmatches an individual device list. If the credential information doesnot match the user information (NO in step S1202), the processingproceeds to step S1208. In step S1208, the print service 301 outputserror information to the client terminal 102. If the device unique IDmatches any one of the device unique IDs registered in the individualdevice list (YES in step S1203), the processing proceeds to step S1206.In step S1206, the print service 301 determines whether the userinstruction indicates scan input, based on the default printer settingrequest information. If none of the printers included in the individualdevice list have the device unique ID (NO in step S1203), the processingproceeds to step S1204. In step S1204, the print service 301 determineswhether the device unique ID matches any printer in the shared devicelist. If the device unique ID matches any printer in the shared devicelist (YES in step S1204), the processing proceeds to step S1205. In stepS1205, the print service 301 registers the printer as a user-specificutilization device by recording the device unique ID of the printer inthe individual device list for the user. In step S1206, the printservice 301 determines whether the user instruction indicates scan inputbased on the default printer setting request information. If none of theprinters in the shared device list have the device unique ID (NO in stepS1204), the processing proceeds to step S1209. In step S1209, the printservice 301 outputs error information to the client terminal 102, asillustrated in FIG. 7D. In step S1207, If the print service 301determines that the user instruction indicates scan input (YES in stepS1206), the processing proceeds to step S1207. In step S1207, the printservice 301 promptly sets the printer having the device unique ID as adefault printer. In contrast, if the print service 301 determines thatthe user instruction indicates manual input (NO in step S1206), theprocessing proceeds to step S1210. In step S1210, the print service 301confirms with the user about whether to set the printer having thedevice unique ID as a default printer. If the print service 301determines that the user agrees to the setting of the default printer(YES in step S1211), the processing proceeds to step S1207. In stepS1207, the print service 301 sets the printer having the device uniqueID as a default printer. In contrast, if the print service 301determines that the user does not agree to the setting of the defaultprinter (NO in step S1211), the print service 301 ends the presentprocessing.

As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, basedon the determination result of whether the scan input or the manualinput has been selected, the print service 301 confirms with the userabout “whether to set the printer as a default printer”. Depending onthe result of this confirmation, the default printer setting isperformed. Thus, if the scan input has been selected, namely, if it iscertain that the user has operated the printer right in front, theprinter can be promptly set as a default printer. In contrast, if themanual input UI has been selected, namely, if there is a possibilitythat the user is not in front of the printer, user confirmation isperformed. In this way, it is possible to reduce erroneous operationswithout sacrificing the user convenience.

Other Embodiments

The present disclosure includes supplying a program that realizes atleast one function of the above exemplary embodiments to a system or anapparatus via a network or a storage medium and causing at least oneprocessor of a computer of the system or the apparatus to read andexecute the program. Alternatively, the present disclosure includes acircuit (for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC))that realizes at least one function of the above exemplary embodiments.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure includes a computer of a systemor apparatus that reads out and executes computer executableinstructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium(which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one ormore of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one ormore circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) forperforming the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s), and a method performed by the computer of the system orapparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computerexecutable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functionsof one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controllingthe one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of theabove-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or moreprocessors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit(MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separateprocessors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions.The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer,for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage mediummay include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-accessmemory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributedcomputing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digitalversatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, amemory card, and the like.

While the present disclosure includes exemplary embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplaryembodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded thebroadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications andequivalent structures and functions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server system comprising: a storage unitconfigured to store a plurality of printer identifiers; a setting unitconfigured to set as a group including one or more printer identifiersselected from the plurality of printer identifiers; a receiving unitconfigured to receive, from an information processing apparatus, aprinter identifier included in the group; a registration unit configuredto register the received printer identifier as a default printeridentifier of the group; and a transmission unit configured to transmit,to an information processing apparatus, the printer identifierregistered as the default printer identifier.
 2. The server systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the one ormore printer identifiers included in the group to the informationprocessing apparatus.
 3. The server system according to claim 2, whereinthe transmission unit does not transmit, to the information processingapparatus, a printer identifier that is stored in the storage unit andis not included in the group.
 4. The server system according to claim 2,wherein the information processing apparatus displays the one or moreprinter identifiers transmitted by the server system.
 5. The serversystem according to claim 4, wherein the information processingapparatus displays the registered printer identifiers as the defaultprinter identifier.
 6. The server system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a notification unit configured to notify, in a case thatanother printer identifier received from the information processingapparatus is not included in the group, the information processingapparatus of an error.
 7. The server system according to claim 1,further comprising: a control unit configured to add another printeridentifier received from the information processing apparatus to thegroup, in a case that said another printer identifier is stored in thestorage unit and is not included in the group.
 8. The server systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the default printer identifier is aprinter identifier to be selected initially by the informationprocessing apparatus.
 9. A control method of a server system including astorage unit that stores a plurality of printer identifiers, the controlmethod comprising: setting as a group including one or more printeridentifiers selected from the plurality of printer identifiers;receiving, from an information processing apparatus, a printeridentifier included in the group; registering the received printeridentifier as a default printer identifier of the group; andtransmitting, to an information processing apparatus, the printeridentifier registered as the default printer identifier.
 10. The controlmethod of the server system according to claim 9, further comprising:transmitting the one or more printer identifiers included in the groupto the information processing apparatus.
 11. The control method of theserver system according to claim 10, wherein the information processingapparatus displays the one or more printer identifiers transmitted bythe server system.
 12. The control method of the server system accordingto claim 11, wherein the information processing apparatus displays theregistered printer identifiers as the default printer identifier. 13.The control method of the server system according to claim 9, furthercomprising: notifying, in a case that another printer identifierreceived from the information processing apparatus is not included inthe group, the information processing apparatus of an error.
 14. Thecontrol method of the server system according to claim 9, furthercomprising: adding another printer identifier received from theinformation processing apparatus to the group, in a case that saidanother printer identifier is stored in the storage unit and is notincluded in the group.
 15. The control method of the server systemaccording to claim 9, wherein the default printer identifier is aprinter identifier to be selected initially by the informationprocessing apparatus.